Civil Service Reforms: Screening Underway In Western Equatoria State

The government of WesternEquatoriaState has constituted a ministerial committee to spearhead the screening of the state’s civil service.

The development comes after last month’s decree issued by the South Sudanese President Salva Kiir Mayardit which seeks to evaluate and screen the civil service in the new nation for improved service delivery.

The Western Equatoria State Governor Bangasi Joseph Bakosoro hailed the initiative, saying it will ensure a leaner and effective civil service.

”The presidential decree has come at the right time because the government needs to screen its staff. We need to know the qualification and the experience of each civil servant so that South Sudan is not termed a failed country as a result of being run by incompetent people. We are a new nation and we need to start with fresh and able civil servants”, Bakosoro told Gurtong.

The Governor urged the State Ministry of Public Service and the civil service to take the order seriously and embrace fairness while undertaking the exercise.

“Let us stay away from any hatred or tribal inclinations as these will trash the intention of this worthy undertaking. All ethnic communities will be involved in the exercise. We are only seeking to improve service delivery to our people and we encourage everyone to take it positively. This order has been given by the President and should be respected by all”, he said.

The Governor called for sobriety during the exercise, saying that those found to be unqualified to hold public office should not be discouraged, but instead should strive to improve their academic and work experience.

“We have formed a ministerial committee to ensure the exercise proceeds smoothly. A separate committee has also been formed to work on ghost civil servants”, said Bakosoro.

He called for transparency during the exercise, saying that cases of fraud will only slow down the reform processes, hence affecting service delivery.

The State Public Service and Human Resource Development Minister Jackcilia Salathiel Ebere who chairs the committee said that other members include the ministries of education, parliamentary affairs, finance and local government.

‘’We have constituted a nine-member technical committee comprising of highly competent officers to undertake the work and we expect to be done within two months”, she said.

A similar exercise undertaken by the states in 2009 drew an outcry with many saying a specific ethnic community had been targeted.